Police have released a sketch of the attacker who brutally beat two high school students on the Biscayne Bay campus of MAST @ FIU earlier this week.
James Critz, 16, and 15-year-old Isabela Perdomo were still recovering at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood after a suspect approached them and beat them with a tree limb Monday.
Florida International University police released the sketch Thursday and said police will continue to canvas the remote wooded area where the attack took place.
"It's just so random, you know you think you have two kids in a nice area and good kids and then they're attacked. This could've happened to anyone, it's scary," said Critz's mother, Tara, to NBC 6 on Tuesday.
The teens were working on a marine biology project on the campus when they were approached by a suspect, who attacked them with a tree limb, the parents said. He fled without taking anything.
Both teens suffered serious injuries and were taken to the hospital's intensive care unit. Critz, who is suffering from skull fractures and a broken bone on his spine, would go in and out of consciousness.
Perdomo is in a lot of pain but was able to intermittently recall what happened during the attack on Monday, her mother said. She is also dealing with a cracked skull.
"Certainly this incident came as a shock to all of us," Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. "I am dismayed, I am saddened, I am disturbed."
FIU has added more police presence to the campus as they work to find the suspect.
"It is crazy, it can happen to anyone," mother Elizabeth Perdomo said. "I want people to be vigilant, I want them to make sure that they know where their kids are at all times and to constantly tell them, even though they don't want to hear it, to not go anywhere without a large group, because as we learned now, you can't even be with a partner."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with medical costs.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477) or online at crimestoppersmiami.com or on Facebook.
